


Please Answer in a Timely Manner

by mismatched_ideas



Series: Starting Gun, Photo Finish [5]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Day 6, Fluffy, Instagram, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Seungchuchu Week 2017, Skype, YouTube, olympian AU, timezones
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-27
Updated: 2017-05-27
Packaged: 2018-11-04 06:43:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10985532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mismatched_ideas/pseuds/mismatched_ideas
Summary: Timezones are a bitch, especially when you're 18 and dating the person you're pretty sure is the love of your life.





	Please Answer in a Timely Manner

**Author's Note:**

> \--—-- between a change in timezone difference  
> \--- between a change in scene but not timezone difference

**13 Hours**

They’d only been dating two months and the time difference was starting to drive them both insane. It was especially hard to deal with when they both had packed schedules. 

“You’re done?” Phichit asked, suppressing a yawn.

“I sent in my last application today.” Phichit yawned again and Seung-gil raised an eyebrow. “What time is it in Detroit?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Seung-gil gave Phichit a look and he just sighed. “One in the morning.” 

“You should be asleep. Don’t you leave for Sydney in a few days?”

“It’s fine, I’m finishing homework anyways.” He held up a notebook. “I’d be awake either way.”

“I’m distracting you.”

“You’re not.” Phichit yawned again. “Shouldn’t you be in school right now? It’s, what, two in the afternoon?”

“I’m a day ahead, remember? No school today.” Though he should really be spending this time studying. 

“Of course…” Phichit was fidgeting, smiling at his lap. “It’ll be nice to be in Sydney… we’ll only be an hour apart.” 

“Yah.” Seung-gil smiled briefly, not long enough for Phichit to look up and see, though. “It’ll be nice.”

\--—--

**1 Hour**

When Phichit fell asleep on the Skype call Seung-gil smiled despite his disappointment. It turned out one hour difference didn’t make things easier when they both had packed schedules. 

Seung-gil hadn’t been able to Skype until ten at night which was usually fine because that was nine in the morning for Phichit. Except now it was eleven at night and Phichit was tired because, as he explained, he hadn’t been able to sleep at all on the plane. 

They hadn’t even been on for half an hour before Phichit fell asleep, his phone falling out of his hand and onto the floor. 

Seung-gil didn’t want to hang up, just in case Phichit woke up, so instead, he muted himself and turned to YouTube. He knew it might seem strange to some people that he watched his boyfriend’s videos but he would have explained that he was too nervous most of the time to ask to Skype. Well, he never would have actually explained that but it was the explanation.

The thing was, he realized quickly how much he wanted to see Phichit as often as possible. It was like the lack of physical proximity had somehow had an inverse affect on Seung-gil’s need for virtual proximity. But he wasn’t going to be so greedy with Phichit’s time and affection, he just wasn’t ready to ask for things like that. 

So he watched Phichit’s videos. 

The first twenty or so had been strictly makeup tutorials and Seung-gil now felt strangely comfortable with the different products and tools involved. After that, there was more variety. Vlogs, more makeup, and some videos of tennis. In Phichit’s most recent vlog he called a shout-out to a makeup vlogger called Guang Hong Ji. Phichit told Seung-gil Guang Hong had reached out to him, saying he was a big fan and Phichit couldn’t stop himself from taking to the kid. Now, they were pretty close and he was also pretty close to another YouTuber who posted mostly song covers. Apparently that kid, Leo de la Iglesia, was the subject of some infatuation for Guang Hong. Seung-gil had to hand it to the kid for making friends with someone he had a crush on. Seung-gil couldn’t claim to be that brave.

“Hiyah!” Phichit sang from Seung-gil’s screen. He was watching a video from that August, sometime after Phichit had started school. “Everyone ready to meet my new bestie?” There was a pause and he turned the camera towards another person who blushed and looked away. “Yuuri, say hi!”

“Phichit!” He looked a bit older than Phichit, black hair falling a little into his glasses covered eyes. “Don’t just spring this stuff on me.”

Phichit turned the camera back on himself with a giggle, “That’s my roommate, Yuuri Katsuki. He’s an Olympic gymnast. Japan’s best, in fact.”

“Phichit!” Yuuri complained from off camera but Phichit only laughed, the sound putting a smile onto Seung-gil face as he found himself drifting off. 

“You know, I was afraid of him when I first moved here.” He was whispering to the camera now and Seung-gil could almost pretend Phichit was actually talking to him. “But my good friend helped me to be more confident in myself.” He giggled, “I don’t think I’ve told you guys about this friend of mine. He’s my secret for now but let me tell you, he’s really sweet and kind and smart and also really hot.”

“Phichit’s got a huge crush on him,” Yuuri called from off screen, turning Phichit’s cheeks red.

“Yuuri!” It was his turn to complain, “Now I’m all red!”

“I’m telling the truth.”

Phichit made another whining noise before pouting at the camera. 

“Well guys, that’s all for this one I guess. See you next time.” 

The next video auto-played as Seung-gil drifted off, a smile stuck on his face.

\--—--

 **13 hours**

“Seung-gil?” Phichit looked concerned when the call picked up but Seung-gil was still too in shock to notice much of anything. 

He’d graduated in late February and had been working part-time while waiting for responses from the places he’d applied to in The United States. Now, his hands were shaking, wishing they had a letter or something tangible to hold instead of the air he was grasping at. 

“Sweet pea?” Even the new nickname didn’t seem to phase Seung-gil. “What’s up?”

“You, umm, have you heard of Columbia University?”

“Like in New York City?” Phichit tilted his head, confused because Seung-gil hadn’t ever mentioned the school. 

“Yah, that one.”

“You mean the really good school?”

Seung-gil nodded, looking at his hands in wonder. “I didn’t tell you I applied because I never thought I’d even get waitlisted…”

“Seung-gil?”

“I was accepted.” He looked up at the screen, blinking to try and clear his foggy mind.

“Seung-gil, that’s amazing!” Phichit shouted, smiling widely and thinking about how much he hated the distance between them. There was nothing more that he wanted to do right now than hug Seung-gil. “Do they have an archery team?”

Seung-gil nodded, looking back down at his hands like he was amazed they’d had any part in what was happening. “That’s the only reason I applied.”

“Seung-gil,” Phichit’s voice softened and when Seung-gil looked back up, he was struck by the warm softness of his boyfriend’s face, a small but so genuinely happy smile on his face. “Congratulations. You worked hard for this and you deserved it.” Now it was Phichit’s turn to look away from the camera. “And if you do end up going there, we’ll be closer.”

“I haven’t decided yet.”

“I know!” Phichit put his hands out, waving them at the camera. “I wasn’t trying to persuade you one way or another… I just got a little caught up in thinking about it.” Another big smile, “And guess what!”

“What?”

“I’ll be in Bangkok for my birthday this month and I was thinking I could layover in Korea for a day or two.”

“That would be amazing.” Seung-gil’s mouth might not have shown a smile but Phichit could clearly see it in his eyes. “Wait… when would that be?”

“Don’t remember my birthday?” Phichit gave a fake pout but Seung-gil didn’t seem to be paying attention. Instead, he looked… sad. “What?”

“I’m going to visit Columbia that week.” They both sighed, suddenly feeling the weight of a long distance relationship. 

“It’s pretty funny though… Basically switching places.” He leaned forward, leaning his forehead against the screen. “No matter where you end up going, I want to see you before we start school.” 

Without putting much thought into it, Seung-gil copied Phichit. In retrospect, he couldn’t find any logic in the action but it felt right nonetheless. 

“Me too.”

“I’m really happy for you.”

“I know… thank you, for everything.”

Phichit had an ‘I love you’ on the tip of his tongue but let it drop, settling for their comfortable silence instead. The I love you’s could wait, he decided, instead content to let the rest of their call be just silent togetherness. 

\---

“I’m going to go.” Seung-gil whispered to Phichit, both of them lying in their beds with their phones next to them, trying to pretend they weren’t a world away. 

“I’m happy for you.” Phichit was the first person Seung-gil told. He hadn’t officially accepted, but he’d decided and Phichit was the first person he wanted to know even if that fact would make Mi-na jealous. 

“Thank you,” Seung-gil repeated the words he’d said when he first found out he was accepted to Columbia. “For everything. 

\--—--

**3 hours**

“Shout-out to my best, best, best friend who’s in New York right now, getting settled in his new apartment.” 

Phichit was livestreaming from Los Angeles with Leo and Guang Hong. It was a small time difference but enough that Seung-gil was feeling it in his bones. Or maybe that was just the jetlag. 

Seung-gil wasn’t starting school until August but he wanted to get settled and really get used to his new archery team so he moved in a whole two months early. His parents and sister weren’t overly excited to see him leave but they were definitely happy to see him happy. And for all his nervousness, Seung-gil could say with certainty that he was happy.

“He should be asleep right now but I’m sure he’s wide awake. Even if he wasn’t jetlagged, I bet he’d be up right now watching this livestream.” Phichit smirked and Seung-gil knew he was up to something. “Isn’t that right, Seung-gil?” 

It didn’t take long for people to flood onto his Instagram, trying to find out who he was. He guessed they’d found him through Phichit’s Instagram, though he couldn’t figure out how. He’d have to chastise Phichit later, though there would be no actually heat in his annoyance. Instead, he’d be trying not to smile as Phichit pretended to be bashful. 

Seung-gil was just happy Phichit was confident enough to tell his followers even a little about him. 

\--—--

**0 Hours**

The airport was crowded, JFK was always crowded, but Phichit didn’t pay attention to any of that. Instead, he rushed through every checkpoint, glad he wasn’t coming in from an international flight. If he had, god knew how long it would take to get through customs and passport check and all the rest.

Instead, he had a pretty short process, excitement building as he rushed towards the exit and down the long runway-like area, scanning the faces in the crowd for the one he wanted. 

_”No… No… No… N–”_ Phichit stopped for a moment near the end of the exit lane he was rolling his suitcase down, frozen as he looked at a tall man with a mop of black hair sitting messily on top of his head. The outfit he was wearing was some sort of generic athletic-wear and even though it was a terrible choice, Phichit thought Seung-gil looked like a star in it. His arms were crossed and his face was neutral. At least until he caught sight of Phichit.

For a moment, Phichit thought he saw panic in Seung-gil’s eyes but then it melted and was replaced, instead, with a smile. It was the widest smile Phichit thought he’d ever seen on the other man’s face and he would have been content to just look at him for the rest of eternity. 

Seung-gil, though, had other plans as he seemed to get impatient. In a show of boldness Phichit wouldn’t have expected, he opened his arms. His face was flushed and Phichit found himself falling for the Korean man all over again, allowing himself to look at the scene in front of him for a single heartbeat. In his own show of boldness, Phichit left his luggage to run towards his boyfriend.

His boyfriend. His smart, pretty, kind, and generally wonderful boyfriend. His boyfriend who he hadn’t been in the same place as in almost three years. His boyfriend who was blushing and smiling and holding his arms open and all these things were things the Phichit of three years ago could never have imagined. 

He threw his arms around Seung-gil neck, locking their lips together with closed eyes and gentle pressure. For a moment Seung-gil did nothing, his face shocked and his eyes wide open, but soon his mind caught up with the unfolding events and he melted into the kiss. It might not have been particularly good and it probably lasted too long to be proper in public, but both young men found they didn’t care because after eight months of dating they were finally, _finally_ , together in the same place.

The next day, Phichit and Seung-gil found out there had been at least one fan of Phichit’s watching. They found out because someone posted the picture of their reunion on Instagram. Seung-gil couldn’t even find it in himself to be mad, too happy to have Phichit within arms reach. He was so happy, in fact, that Phichit convinced him to make an appearance in the vlog Phichit was making to respond to the confusion and theories. 

Seung-gil didn’t mind because he’d decide while waiting for Phichit that he’d, for once, trying to damn the consequences and the logic and instead work on instinct.

Now, with Phichit cuddled close to him, Seung-gil found he didn’t even need to try to be happy. He didn’t have to pretend he was happy. He was just happy.

**Author's Note:**

> I'll be honest, the name is mostly nonsense... I just liked how it sounded :P


End file.
